While the vast majority of this weekâ€™s media and consumer hysteria will undoubtedly focus on Bungieâ€™s eagerly anticipated Halo 3, the chaps over at BioWare continue to quietly talk-up Mass Effect, the ambitious third-person action RPG, which, like the original Halo: Combat Evolved, will arrive as the opening chapter of a sprawling narrative trilogy. In this particular instance, BioWare president Greg Zeschuk has taken the time to give shine the spotlight of expectation on Mass Effect, courtesy of the Guardianâ€™s videogame blog.

Indeed, while 2007â€™s final few months are centring on the pulling power of various first-person shooters (BioShock, Halo 3, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption), Mass Effectâ€™s character-driven epic will likely arrive as more of an interactive science fiction movie wrapped up in compelling and immersive narrative gameplay. And thatâ€™s exactly what Zeschuk is keen on passing on to prospective Mass Effect players.

In the Guardian interview, Zeschuk is quizzed regarding the level of player and character freedom on offer in Mass Effect, the amount of game time players can expect to amass from beginning to end, the importance of story and characterisation, the gameâ€™s differing endings, the importance and impact of Xbox 360 achievements, and the overall gameplay balance.

Interestingly, following recent chatter that Mass Effect will offer anything up to 50-60 hours of total game time, Zeschuk states that the figure is more likely to be in the vicinity of 20 to 30 hours, adding that while the team is â€śaiming for a similar size to KOTORâ€ť and that Mass Effect will have more player choice to help bolster it, â€śmost players donâ€™t have 40 hours to finish a game.â€ť

Check out the full interview by clicking right HERE, or click below to enjoy the latest â€śGameplay Freedomâ€ť interview for the game, courtesy of GameTrailers.com. Mass Effect will be released to retail on November 20.